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Nightmare or Dream?

People expect a talk that matches the season, and Halloween is this coming Tuesday, so I have decided to talk about a choice that we have. I believe a real choice about how we view Life. Is our World becoming a nightmare or a dream?

I like to start my talks with a joke, so here is one from Glenda Nelson. A man was wondering, How many witches does it take to change a light bulb? So he asked a witch and the witch said, “Into what?”

This talk is based on my own experience and my “Best Guess.” It is what I believe that I am finding on my Spiritual Path. If it doesn’t ring true for you, a wonderful question to ask is “What is it I do believe? What is it that rings true for me?”

As most of you know, before I became a Mystic, I was an Engineer. I worked for the US Navy at the Shipyard in Bremerton. I was a Nuclear Engineer and worked with about 600 other Engineers. While working as a Nuclear Engineer, I attended a meeting. The purpose of this meeting was to make an important decision. We were seated in a circle in the Nuclear Engineering Manager’s Office. As I remember, we were working on about 11 nuclear reactors in the Shipyard at that time, and the Nuclear Engineering Manager was responsible for their safe repair and operation. All of the men present were very intelligent and dedicated with the highest of intentions. I had a great deal of respect for them. And I was to be a part of this important decision! As the least senior person there, my Ego was inflated. Suddenly the room faded and everywhere there was a person, there was a light in the middle of their chest. I heard “This room, this building, these bodies, this Earth will all pass away, but this will remain.” Then the vision faded and the room returned to normal. Looking around the circle, I realized that I was the only one who had seen or heard this. Over time I decided that this totally unexpected vision was my spiritual work. That is, to become more aware of the Light inside and to help others do the same.

My Vision is the basis of today’s talk.

Halloween is an unusual holiday. In most ways it is fun and a great time for children and adults. Many of us like to be scared and to pretend that we, or the situation around us, is scary. We dabble in our fears and in the unknown. We play with the unknown of death. We roll out the old horror movies and scary TV episodes. Knowing that it is all make-believe, costumes, and illusions.

But there are horrors in our Life. In fact, enough that sometimes our life becomes a nightmare. Rather than horrors, lets call them concerns. What are some concerns?

Here are some of mine:

1. Climate change

2. The political deadlock in D.C.

3. The Supreme Court

4. Immigration

5. Artificial Intelligence

6. My Wife at Martha and Mary

7. Keeping The Cancer from returning

What are you concerned about? (Ask the congregation)

Everything changes with time. Everything. I may be standing here, feeling fine, and than all of a sudden I have pain. Now my lists of concerns has changed, in an instant.

Is there a spiritual lesson for me in this? Absolutely. I call it Trick or Treat.

At Halloween we say, “Trick or Treat?” When children in costume say this, it has come to mean, I am here for candy, or other treats. However, my Mother told me that Halloween used to be a time of tricks. Some of them quite nasty. People dreaded Halloween because they knew that bad things could happen. Unexpected tricks. Like moving an outhouse back so that when someone was following the path in the dark, they would step in the hole. As a kid, I remember thinking that this was funny. Partly because I grew up in Seattle with indoor plumbing. However, when I was about 10 years old, my parents built a small summer cabin that had no running water or electricity. So we had an outhouse. Once I realized what it was like to depend on an outhouse, I really knew what a dirty trick moving it would be.

Today I am going to suggest that the biggest trick is that what we consider reality is really an illusion. Perhaps my Vision said it best. “This room, this building, these bodies, this Earth will all pass away.” In her Unity talk on October 1, titled “Are we dreaming this?,” Debbie Clay cited a number of sources that support the concept that what we consider reality, is actually a dream. An illusion. Debbie had so many sources that she decided to set them aside and focus on the American nursery rhyme “Row, row, your boat, gently down the stream.” That song includes the line,“Life is but a dream.” Debbie made a good case for what I call the Trick, that this World is a dream. Or, perhaps, a nightmare.

If that is the Trick, what is the Treat? Again, perhaps my Vision said it best. That everything will pass away, but the Light inside of us ... “will remain.”

For this talk, l will call the light inside, the “Light Within.” Sometimes I say that I am doing “Soul Healing” with the didgeridoo. Calling it that can be a little misleading. What I mean is the sound of the didgeridoo can help bring things more in tune with our Soul. In tune with the Light Within. I believe that the Light Within is perfect. It does not need healing. What needs healing is the physical, our bodies, our minds, the World. I believe that the Course in Miracles says “We are the Light of the World, that is our only function. That is why we are here.”

Sometimes when I look into the eyes of someone, I can see that Light. It has been said that “The eyes are the windows of the Soul.” I believe that the Light Within is what I see.

I need to take a moment and be sure that you remember that I am operating on my “Best Guess.” Apparently sometimes people think that, since I say I am a Mystic, that I get clear visions, clear messages, that I have a special connection that they don’t have. I don’t believe that is true. What I have is experience in following my “Best Guess.” A friend once said that the difference between them and me was that I followed my intuition. I said, “And you don’t?” They said, “Not always.” So I asked, “How is that working for you?” The answer was, “Not very well.”

As I have learned, visions can come in on multiple dimensions. If I question too much, if I try to remember exactly what I experienced, I can get confused. I once saw a man experience a Miracle. Over time, I witnessed him talking himself out of it. He eventually concluded that it was not a Miracle. I decided that I never wanted to do that. Instead I have followed my “Best Guess” and found magic. Not always, and sometimes not completely magical, but often enough that it is my goal: To trust my “Best Guess” and see what happens. As a result, my life has become magical.

My wife, Kay, has been key in my transformation from an Engineer to a Mystic. I don’t know who I would be without her. Not that she told me what to do, nor did she coach me. Instead she nurtured me, confirming what I had decided and convincing me that there were more possibilities than I knew. I remember years ago when I read about chakras, I mentioned this to Kay and implied that they did not exist. She said, “But you can see them.” I couldn’t, but she could.

Here is one way that the Light Within is a Treat. Kay is at Martha & Mary due to diabetes and dementia. She is happy and content. But not the independent person she was with lots to do. She was a wonderful teacher and one of the fastest readers in the World. Now she can no longer read. I feel very sad when I realize how much she has lost. However, recently I realized that her Light Within remains the same. She is still a Light in the World. And I can see this. She smiles, says hello, and waves at people. She is sweet and she is more in tune with the Light Within than I am.

Some time ago, I was worried about Kay and running over things in my mind. Then in meditation I heard, “Kay is happy and content, why aren’t you?” I thought, “That is a really good question!” Now I think that the question could be, “Kay is in more tune with the Light Within. Why aren’t you?”

I need to remind myself and others of the Light Within. When all else passes away, it will remain.

So it is my choice: Trick or treat? Will I focus on what will pass away, or on being in tune with my Light Within?

We used to close our service with the Sufi Prayer -

May the Blessings of God rest upon you

May God’s Peace abide with you.

May God’s presence illuminate your heart

Now and forevermore

One way of thinking about the Light Within is that it is God’s presence Illuminating our heart.

II Corinthians 4:18 says: We need to “fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Trick or Treat?

The Trick is the Physical World.

The Treat is the Light Within.

Meditation - as a Mystic, this is what is important. Instead of just talking about the Light Within, lets open up to experiencing it.

Introduction: Fear is one of the most disabling emotions. This meditation can remove Fear. It can be thought of as “burning it off”, or “dissolving it.” Once fear is removed, it is much easier to be open.

Violet is a color similar to purple. In this meditation, we will use the Violet Flame of St. Germane. Imagine it rising up around you removing any fear. It is important during this meditation to not focus on or think about any particular fear. To do so, can give it energy and focus your awareness on it. Instead imagine that any fears that you have are being removed.

As we experience the Light Within, this Light can be Ecstatic energy, such as Ecstatic Joy, Ecstatic Love, Ecstatic Life, etc. (Ecstatic is like Ecstasy, not Static.) With time, I have become aware that deeper than these is Love. So what I perceive springs from Love. God is Love.

Meditation

1. Take a deep breath and let it out together with a sigh. Take a second deep breath and let it out with a sigh. Then take a third deep breath and let it out at your own time and pace.

2. You may choose to sit with your palms facing up. Imagine the Violet Flame of St. Germane starting from below and rising up around you, dissolving and removing any fear. Focus on the rising violet flame and trust that any and all fears will be removed. Remember to breathe deeply, and as you exhale, release what you no longer need.

3. Repeat and see the Violet flame starting from below, rising up and removing any fear. Continue until you feel that the process is complete.

4. Hold the intention of experiencing the Light Within.

5. Check all of your inner senses to find your experience.

6. Bell & Didgeridoo

7. Focus on and allow your awareness of this experience to grow.

8. When you feel complete, just open your eyes.

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